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	British Catholics at Loggerheads with Vatican over Gay Abuse Comments By Peter Hutchison and Nick Squires Telegraph April 14, 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7591631/British-Catholics-at-loggerheads-with-Vatican-over-gay-abuse-comments.html In a sign of tension between the hierarchies over how best to handle public outrage over child abuse, Father Marcus Stock, the general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference, said research showed that paedophilia was "not a question" of sexual orientation. His comments followed remarks by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the most senior aide to Pope Benedict XVI, claiming that research had clearly linked homosexuality and paedophilia. Cardinal Bertone, the Holy See's secretary of state, said that homosexuality was the "problem" that caused Catholic priests to molest children. Father Stock said: "To the best of my knowledge, there is no empirical data which concludes that sexual orientation is connected to child sexual abuse. "The consensus among researchers is that the sexual abuse of children is not a question of sexual "orientation", whether heterosexual or homosexual, but of a disordered attraction or "fixation". Many abusers of children have never developed the capacity for mature adult relationships. Instead, their sexual attractions focus on children – boys, girls, or both." Cardinal Bertone made his comments in Chile earlier this week. France's foreign ministry condemned the comments as "unacceptable". Yesterday the Vatican tried to distance itself from the cardinal's comments. Father Federico Lombardi, a press officer, said: "General assertions of a specifically psychological or medical nature are not the responsibility of Church officials." Fr Lombardi and other Vatican officials have suggested that the Church is unfairly singled out for paedophilia, noting that it is a widespread social phenomenon. Peter Tatchell, of the homosexual rights group Outrage!, said: "The reputation of the Vatican and the Pope has been badly damaged by recent attempts to blame gays, the media and Jews for the public outcry over the sex crimes of Catholic clergy."
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